OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, recently sat down with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on business, jobs, and society. In the conversation, Altman touches on how quickly AI is progressing, what the next 18 months could look like, and the bigger shifts we may see in the years ahead.
Some key themes from the discussion include:
- The pace of change – Altman suggests we’ve already moved from “0 to 1” with ChatGPT, and may be heading from “10 to 100” in capability within the next 18 months. While it might not feel as dramatic as the first release, the impact could be much greater.
- Disruption to business models – Entire software companies could become obsolete as AI tools generate applications instantly, reducing the need for large corporate structures. Even giants like Microsoft aren’t immune to this shift.
- Scientific breakthroughs – AI could soon accelerate discovery, moving beyond support tools to actually driving new theories, research, and innovations in areas such as medicine and energy.
- Jobs and adoption – The first wave of disruption is already visible in coding, customer support, and sales, with enterprises adopting AI rapidly to boost efficiency and cut costs.
- Wealth and society – A central question remains: will AI concentrate wealth among a few, or spread benefits more widely through access to free or low-cost tools? Altman leans towards the latter, pointing out how technology historically increases global prosperity.
This is a thought-provoking watch, especially as AI continues to move from concept to everyday reality. The full video is linked below for anyone who wants to dive deeper into Altman’s perspective.
